Comparison

Sonar vs GPS Bug Detector

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Sonar

Features
Read full description

SONAR: HIDDEN CAMERA AND TRACKER DETECTOR Sonar helps you check for hidden cameras, hidden microphones, and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi trackers, a privacy inspection support tool with infrared, Wi-Fi network, and Bluetooth scanning. Whether you're in a motel room, hotel, Airbnb, locker room, public restroom, fitting room, car, or your own luggage, Sonar helps you inspect the space in minutes. IMPORTANT: no phone app can guarantee with certainty that a space is free of hidden cameras. Sonar is a support tool, each finding comes with a confidence level so you can physically check the spot it flags. Always use it alongside a manual inspection. DETECTOR FEATURES Infrared scanner Point your phone's camera and look for the telltale reflection of hidden spy camera lenses, a common sign in cameras disguised as a button camera, pen camera, charger, smoke detector, or clock. Works best in a dark room and doesn't replace a physical check. Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth device detection Sonar scans the local Wi-Fi network and nearby Bluetooth devices to flag devices with characteristics of connected cameras or trackers. Each result shows a confidence level, not a definitive confirmation. Bluetooth tracker detector Flags signals from Bluetooth trackers nearby: in your car, bag, luggage, or personal belongings, as support against unwanted tracking during travel and everyday life. Guided sweep A practical checklist walks you through spots where cameras and microphones are commonly hidden: outlets, smoke detectors, picture frames, mirrors, chargers, clocks, and more, so you can physically inspect each one. Clear, straightforward results See the confidence level of each finding, with real-time visual indication, no technical jargon. WHY USE SONAR Works offline Simple interface anyone can use Fast: full sweep in just a few minutes No complicated sign-up GREAT FOR - Motel, hotel, and Airbnb stays - Short-term rentals and vacation homes - Locker rooms, gyms, and public restrooms - Store fitting rooms - Checking your car and luggage for trackers - Confidential meetings and work spaces YOUR PRIVACY COMES FIRST Hidden cameras and trackers are more common than you'd think. Sonar exists to give you a support tool for checking your space, simple and accessible, always as a complement to your own inspection, never as an absolute guarantee. WHERE YOU CAN USE SONAR Hotel room · Motel room · Airbnb · Vacation rental · Bed and breakfast · Hostel · Resort · Spa · Sauna · Public restroom · Gym locker room · Pool locker room · Club locker room · Store fitting room · Lingerie fitting room · Event or theater dressing room · Meeting room · Shared office · Coworking space · Rental car · Uber or taxi · Rented beach house · Vacation cabin · Guest room at someone else's home · Doctor's office or clinic · Short-term rental property THE GUIDED CHECKLIST COVERS COMMON SPOTS LIKE Smoke detector · Wall clock · Desk clock · Alarm clock · Phone charger · USB wall adapter · Power strip · Wi-Fi router · Bluetooth speaker · Wall art · Picture frame · Mirror · Desk lamp · TV remote control · Teddy bear · Glasses · Pen · Keychain · Fake potted plant · Book on a shelf Download Sonar now and run your first sweep in under 2 minutes. ---------------------------- Terms of Use (EULA): https://sonarcameradetector.com/terms

About

GPS Bug Detector

Features
Read full description

Someone can hide a tracker in a car in under a minute. Finding it takes longer. GPS Bug Detector gives you four different ways to search, because no single sensor catches everything. Scan a room, a rental car, a hotel or an office, and see what is actually around you before you settle in. BUG DETECTOR The magnetometer reads changes in the magnetic field around electronics tucked inside seats, bumpers, panels and furniture. Watch the gauge climb as you move the phone closer. This is the layer that finds hardware with no radio at all, which is exactly what a passive GPS logger is. SPY CAMERA Three ways to hunt for a lens, because hidden cameras hide differently depending on the room. Flash lights the surface and holds the exposure so glass gives itself away. Sweep walks you across a wall or ceiling in a slow pass so nothing gets skipped. Retro-reflect catches the bright pinpoint bounce a lens sends straight back at your light source. This is the one that finds cameras behind smoke detectors, mirrors, vents and clock faces. The camera view also picks up infrared emitters that night vision setups use, which your eye cannot see in a dark room. BLUETOOTH SCAN The Bluetooth scanner lists every BLE device broadcasting nearby, sorted by signal strength in dBm. Known hardware gets labelled, so your neighbour's laptop reads as a laptop and an unknown tag reads as unknown. Walk toward a device and watch the number climb until you are standing on top of it. Tap any result to open the device inspector for advertised services and full signal history. WI-FI SCAN See every device sitting on the network you are connected to, with its IP address and manufacturer. Routers, phones, laptops and smart TVs get identified. So does an IP camera. If you are staying somewhere and a Hikvision or Reolink device shows up on the house Wi-Fi that nobody mentioned, you will know in about ten seconds. HISTORY Every scan is saved. Run one when you check into a room and another the next day, and compare. A device that appeared overnight is worth a second look. WHO USES IT Travellers checking an unfamiliar room before unpacking. Drivers who share a car, sell a car, or just got one back from a shop. Hosts and guests who want a quick privacy pass on a rental. Anyone with a reason to believe a device followed them home. WHAT THIS APP IS NOT This is not a radio frequency sweeper. Your iPhone has no RF antenna a developer can reach, and any app claiming to sweep RF is guessing. GPS Bug Detector works only with sensors your phone actually has: the magnetometer, the camera, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Every reading you see is a real reading. It cannot detect an audio bug or a listening device that transmits over cellular, and it cannot find a passive GPS logger over the air, since a device that only records and never broadcasts has no signal to catch. The magnetometer pass is your best tool in that case, and a physical search is still worth doing. EULA:https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy & EULA: https://www.appsera.net/app-store-privacy-policy-gps-bug-detector/

Screenshots

Sonar4 screens
GPS Bug Detector4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sonar at none against GPS Bug Detector's 3. GPS Bug Detector's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. GPS Bug Detector sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Sonar asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Sonar versus GPS Bug Detector: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSonarGPS Bug Detector
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB49 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCaue Mattos SilvestreRamazan Tugay Kahraman

In-app purchases

None

Sonar

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

GPS Bug Detector

Subscriptions2
  • Bug Detector Pro$2.997 Days
  • Bug Detector Pro$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$69.99

Questions

Is Sonar free?
Sonar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GPS Bug Detector free?
GPS Bug Detector is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sonar or GPS Bug Detector have ads?
Neither Sonar nor GPS Bug Detector shows ads.

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